


Fortuitous Meeting

by Jestana



Series: AU_Bingo [25]
Category: Victor Victoria (1982)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-22
Updated: 2010-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 23:32:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/142911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toddy gets run into by 'Victoria'. Literally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fortuitous Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Written for au_bingo on LJ for the FREE square. I chose the prompt _Other: Genderbent_. Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium. Inspired by a plot bunny umbralillium had.

**Fortuitous**

  
"You're fired!" Monsieur Labisse snarled at Carole Todd as the former stalked through the ruined nightclub after speaking with the inspector.

Toddy wiped his nose one last time to ensure it wasn't bleeding anymore. "I can't afford it."

" _You_ can't afford it?" Labisse stared at the singer in surprised disbelief. "What about me? What about all this?"

He glanced around himself at the shambles of the club. Shrugging, he suggested, "You could take it out of my salary."

"Toddy." If he didn't find Labisse so repulsive, Toddy would have found the way the club owner growled his name quite sexy. "Get out!"

He held up his hands and stood up, heading for the door. "All right."

"If you ever come back, I will have you thrown out," Labisse warned him.

He stopped in the doorway and turned to address his former employer one last time. "Don't make it sound like such a threat. Being thrown out of a place like this is significantly better than being thrown out of a leper colony."

"Out!" Labisse's face was turning red now.

Wisely, Toddy chose that moment to retreat, pulling his cloak more tightly around himself against the rain. _At least snow is lovely to look at..._

He didn't get a chance to expand on that thought because it was at that moment that someone ran into him, knocking him off balance. The slick pavement underfoot combined with that bump to make Toddy lose his balance completely and fall on his bum. "I am _so_ sorry!"

"So'm I." Toddy looked up with a scathing insult on the tip of his tongue, but it died unspoken once he saw the young who'd bumped into him. A couple inches shorter than Toddy's own five feet, ten inches, the youth was of a slender, supple build, with reddish-blond hair slicked back from a delicately-featured face. Placing his hand in the one the younger man offered him, Toddy got to his feet. "What's your name?"

The large blue eyes turned wary and the young man dropped Toddy's hand. When he spoke, his accent was definitely British upper class. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'd like to know who just knocked me over for one," the brunette retorted, noticing that the boy's clothes were of very high quality, yet worn and frayed at the edges. "And perhaps offer you a bite to eat?"

This time, anger flashed in the blue eyes. "I'm not a charity case!"

"This isn't charity at all," Toddy hastened to reassure the youth, understanding all too well the pride behind the refusal. "I'm hungry myself and prefer not to eat alone."

Eyeing him suspiciously for a moment, the blond offered his hand once again. "Victor Grant."

"Carole Todd," he replied, shaking the slender hand. "Please call me Toddy, though. I prefer it."

Victor nodded politely, releasing the older man's hand. "Toddy it is. Did you have a restaurant in mind when you suggested a meal?"

"I did, actually." Toddy gestured for Victor to follow him along the street. "If you'll follow me?"

He received another nod as Victor fell into step with him. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He kept an eye on his companion as they walked along, keeping his pace slow in spite of the weather because the younger man seemed unable to keep up otherwise.

Toddy watched out of the corner of his eye as Victor faltered, lifting a hand to his head. "I'm-- I-- You'd--"

With that, Victor's face paled, his eyes closed, and he fainted. Luckily, he fell towards Toddy, making it easier for him to catch the youth. "You poor boy."

It took some time and effort, but he was able to pick Victor up and hoist him over his shoulder. Deciding to forgo the restaurant, Toddy instead took the young man to his flat. He gratefully lowered Victor onto the sofa once he arrived there. When he straightened up, he did so with a groan. _I'm not as young as I used to be..._

Going into the bedroom, he changed into pajamas and found a set for Victor to wear once he woke up. That accomplished, he then went into the kitchen to boil some water for tea. By the time it was ready, Toddy could hear Victor stirring on the sofa. He reached it in time to see Victor open his eyes and look around in confusion. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You fainted," Toddy explained, setting the teacup aside so he could help the younger man sit up properly. "As for where you are: this is my flat."

"Why here?" Victor asked, staring at Toddy in surprise.

"I couldn't exactly tote you all around Paris, trying to figure out where you lived," he explained, amused, as he picked up the tea and offered it to the youth.

"I suppose not." The blond accepted the tea and took a sip, his closing as he relished the taste. "It's been so long since I had any tea at all."

Toddy noticed not only the way Victor sat on the sofa, but also the way he sipped his tea. "Why wouldn't you have had tea recently? Why haven't you had any servants prepare some for you?"

"What makes you think I've ever had servants?" This time, Victor's surprise was mixed with his earlier wariness. "What do you want from me?"

Toddy made a point of getting up and going over to the radiator, where he'd hung his clothes to dry after their soaking in the rain. "Your clothes are very high quality, but frayed and worn, as if they haven't been repaired or replaced. Your accent and your manners indicate that you come from the upper class of British society. For whatever reason, though, you are no longer a part of that class."

"Are you Sherlock Holmes in disguise?" Victor demanded, on his feet now.

His indignant stance was ruined, however, when he swayed and quickly rested his hand on the arm of the sofa to keep his balance. Toddy quickly caught his arm and helped him sit back down. "No, I'm not a detective, but I've been a performer for many years now. I've learned to read my audiences."

"Why are you being kind to me?" There were tears in Victor's eyes when he lifted his gaze to Toddy's once more.

He smiled sadly, thinking of a runaway American boy, lost and alone in Paris years ago. "Because I can. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Not when everyone who's ever meant anything to me has abandoned me," Victor muttered the words into his teacup, his expression bitter and angry.

Toddy watched him, his heart clenching in his chest. "They're fools, then. Why would they abandon you at all?"

"My family did because I'm gay and my lover did because I was no longer rich." The younger man met the older man's gaze almost defiantly, as if daring him to abandon Victor.

He smiled wryly. "I'm gay myself, so I'd be a hypocrite to abandon you on account of _that_ and you're poor to start with."

"Do you _always_ have an answer?" It sounded like there was fond amusement mixed in with Victor's exasperation.

Toddy shrugged, taking the now-empty teacup from Victor and handing him the pajamas instead. "Go change out of those wet clothes and put these on."

"Thank you." Victor smiled shakily and stood up. Toddy pointed to the door of the bathroom and the blond slipped inside to change.

He shook his head as he carried the teacup into the kitchen to join the other dirty dishes he'd yet to clean. _I have no intentions of abandoning him, but he won't believe me. I'll just have to **prove** I'm not going to abandon him..._

 **End**


End file.
